Album Review: Lightning Bolt - Sonic Citadel
Putting on a Lightning Bolt album is, to some extent, an exercise in masochism that constantly threatens to shatter one's eardrums and only bears fruit for the most committed of listeners. Their landmark sophomore record, 2003's Wonderful Rainbow, remains one of the most befuddling yet enjoyable noise rock albums ever made, despite being likely to initially sound more akin to a few amateurs turning their amp volumes up to eleven and haphazardly shredding with a conscious disregard for timing and balance. The true beauty of the Providence-based duo's music was in their ability to weave melodies into the framework of tracks like Assassins, Dracula Mountain, and Crown of Storms with an unnatural subtlety; one would be forgiven for not immediately noticing they were even present, despite being played at the same absurd volume as everything else. But despite an initial burst of beautiful cacophony, the group's work beyond Wonderful Rainbow has, for the past fifteen years, been sorely lacking the magic of their aforementioned masterpiece... at least, until now. Sonic Citadel is every bit as polished as the duo's most beloved material, and while their newest offering may lack some of the indescribable 'wow' factor that Wonderful Rainbow did, it can still stand proudly as that record's most capable successor.
The opening track is perhaps the most aptly titled of any song in the group's discography; if anyone listening did not know what they were getting into, Blow To The Head makes the album's intentions clear with as much subtlety as brick to the face. The monstrous bass and technical drumming which start things off are both equally unrelenting, yet quickly are overpowered by a snarling guitar riff and heavily filtered vocals intoning "One blow to the head and they are lying on the floor/One blow to the head and we are running out the door". As much as lyrics often fall by the wayside in music this heavy, here the brief verses still communicate an effective dissatisfaction with the current state of politics, and a not-so-subtle suggestion as to how to remedy things: "One blow to the head could cause a damage to the core". Even more on the nose is the following cut USA Is A Psycho, with pointed nods to both environmental destruction ("I need some flowers and some trees/Oh yeah, we could burn them if you please") and climate change in general ("Keep on climbing, water's rising/Keep on dancing, floor's on fire"). The jubilant guitar playing keeps everything grounded until the song's explosive climax, as the mix is overcome by aberrant screeching and everything speeds up until it all comes crashing down joyously.
The euphoric, overwhelming wall of sound that Lightning Bolt thrusts upon the listener can end up blending into an indiscernible mess of pandemonium and feedback, but in the best way possible. To describe the differences between the frantic, enthralling Air Conditioning and the eerie yet alluring Halloween 3 in any greater detail that that would be near impossible; luckily, the band puts more than enough energy and ingenuity into every track to leave them all uniquely thrilling. The latter cut opens on a particularly odd verse ("My fear's like a wall, I don't need no walls at all") that soon gives way to one of the gnarliest guitar lines on the entire project; despite its relatively subdued production, the complex percussion and intricate riffs combine to create one of the most intense moments on the whole record. Even more meticulous is the lengthy Hüsker Dön't, which (while a touch too prolonged at its six-minute runtime) is constantly introducing new instrumental elements and readjusting its melodies, culminating in a bittersweet coda of unceasing noise, frenzied drumming, and distorted shrieking that seems to come from outside reality itself.
In spite of their renewed infatuation with originality, as the album progresses it begins to mellow out somewhat, and for a moment it seems the group may be once again running out of fresh ideas. Don Henley In The Park, while functioning well enough as a brief respite from the rest of the album's insanity, feels somewhat out of place surrounded by tracks that appear much more purposeful than its abrupt, overambitious second half. Similarly concise is Tom Thump, a strange detour that provides very little besides an admittedly charming bridge that sounds quite reminiscent of the group's older material. However, despite these cuts and the frivolous Bouncy House lagging slightly behind the first half of the album, Sonic Citadel is more than able to reorient itself, ending things off with two of the record's most insane and creative tracks. All Insane is a ruthless, plodding onslaught rife with the album's most poetic lyrics ("When I come around you all will lose your mind/And you, you'll find yourself just alone in the sky"), and the nine-minute closer Van Halen 2049 is constantly building on itself, perpetually generating tension while never straying too close to the realm of sanity and normalcy.
All, in all, Sonic Citadel is an oddly pleasurable assault of noise rock that runs just short of an hour long, and constantly feels both needlessly drawn out and yet able to go on for an eternity without ever losing steam. This is the kind of music that fries brain cells at a speed comparable only to that of the dopamine being fired off every half second as a result of its intoxicating energy and punishing riffs. No one would ever consider subjecting themselves to something this gratuitous and abrasive if only it weren't so damn enjoyable, but if the adoration of Wonderful Rainbow proves anything, it is that there will always be a place for rock music that challenges the physical limits of the ear and demands total subservience to its might before it reveals its secrets. Basically, it's the kind of mindless fun that only the most ingeniously crafted noise rock can aspire to, and it's a legacy that Sonic Citadel does its best to capitalize and innovate on, with largely incredible results.
8/10
Favourite Tracks: Blow To The Head, Air Conditioning, All Insane